“That car, with that power is really impressive, very cool and I understand why I could get very hooked on this sport and this driving,” Wurz told Motorsport.com after his first test.

The former Benetton and Williams driver has roots in rallycross; his father Franz is a three-time European Rallycross Champion, claiming titles in 1974, ’76 and ’82.

Wurz recently restored his father’s title-winning Lancia Stratos, which ran at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2016.

He said after testing with MJP for the first time: “For me this is even more exciting [than for other drivers] because I grew up on the rallycross tracks with my dad. It was my first time stepping into a rallycross car on a rallycross track. It was sensational, it’s like going back to where I grew up.”

Last season MJP fielded a pair of Fiesta Supercars in World RX full-time for double DTM Champion Timo Scheider and Swede Kevin Eriksson. Scheider scored a maiden podium in the Spanish season-opener.

The team will return to World RX for the first time in 2018 at the British round of the series next week, fielding cars for 2013 British Touring Car Champion Andrew Jordan and World RX event-winner Toomas Heikkinen.